Austin Fontaine 
Megan Novelli The Bible, the Koran, the Vedas and all the texts revered by the world’s various religions are sources of endless debate. Their origins are hotly contested and the influence of man on their contents can never be understood to the degree that we all wish it could. Thus, the relationships between people and these texts are extremely complicated and the discussions about them are nearly always contained within frayed edges. How fully can one embrace a religious text?
The handout we received in class about The Renaissance says this about Luther: “For him, a true Christian is not allowed to adopt a skeptical method and argue both sides of an issue.” To many this seems unbearable and anti-intellectual, and to part of me it does too, but I am also deeply drawn to such a position. I have deeply conflicted emotions about religion and that phrase is where it all comes from. As a person the setting that I thrive in is one of consistency and routine. I was also raised in a very Christian home and these two things are in constant struggle. In the context I was raised in religiosity and consistency are helplessly opposed to one another. There are countless examples of scriptures that we don’t follow. A recent example: I was talking with some friends and one of them mentioned that another one of our friend’s moms got botox. From there they talked about how ironic that was considering what a big deal she makes about her faith. This baffled me and I asked them why Christianity and botox were intrinsically incompatible and their response was that getting botox was the height of vanity. I was absolutely unable to make sense of it because nearly everything we do when we get ready in the morning comes from varying degrees of vanity. To me, the logical extent of their embargo on botox should include make-up and jewelry. I can’t condemn one without the other because I can’t live with how inconsistent that feels.
If I were to fully embrace Christianity I would have to condemn the actions of those who helped harbor slaves in the underground railroad because the Bible says that slaves should submit to their masters. I don’t want to sound like I think the Bible advocates slavery, I think Christianity wants a world without it but I also think it only wants it if the slave owners become benevolent and free the slaves of their own volition. Similarly, if I were to fully embrace Christianity I see no way around the subjugation of women. If I held those beliefs I would be unable to live with myself. People have ways of explaining away or reinterpreting those scriptures that sound so foolproof, but it presents another problem for me: if you can explain away those scriptures and admit that a religious text is untrustworhy is those areas then how in the world do you have it within you to trust that text in so many other areas? I cannot accept the Bible without those passages, but I can’t live with myself if I do and further still if I reject the Bible, which I have to if I want to avoid being a misogynist, I have an immense guilt complex. As a result my relationship with Christianity is a tentative side hug, not knowing where it will go.
Michael Bartholomew
10:07 am, 09.17.10
That’s actually one of the more frustrating parts of religion for me. I’m sure we all know people who cling adamantly to every word they’ve been taught, and there’s absolutely no arguing with them. After all, as someone mentioned in class, had we been brought up in another culture would we even be Christians? Or would we be disciples of the local religion? Sure we have the conviction that ours is of course the “authentic” religion, but how can we know? Especially when dealing with people who defend it just as vehemently?
I guess my point is I don’t agree with the thought of skepticism as a bad thing. I’ve always found that the strongest believers are those that allow themselves to ask the hard questions, that aren’t afraid to challenge themselves every once in a while. After all, to accept everything we hear without thinking seems kind of… mechanical.
Danielle Urias
8:58 pm, 09.18.10
Well Josh, I’m sure the questions you ask yourself have been raised by many a Christian, and I actually believe having a “tentative side hug” with Christianity is a necessary process. I have had the same feelings you’re expressing, but once I got to deeply studying the word, I found that most of what I didn’t understand in the past was contextual and I just had to read it for myself. Perhaps that is over-simplifying a complex process, but it is all I know so far.
As for articulating exactly what I believe and defending it when necessary, I currently lack the skills. I think that may be something you’re gifted with. Just some food for thought. Thanks for the post, it was very thought-provoking!
Jonathan Sanders
12:46 pm, 09.19.10
Josh, concerning your comments on the subjugation of women and slaves, I believe that you are taking the passages way too literally. I will be the first to admit that the Bible sometimes has confusing passages and even conflicting messages at points, but it is important not to take one-liners out of context. Many of these seemingly derogatory passages on women and slaves are not as harsh as you are making them out to be. When it comes to the Bible it is important to explore it using faith as well as reason, and also recognize that a literal interpretation is not the intended means of reading. I believe that the stories are more important than the one-liners and might give insight into answering some of your questions.
Jordan Johnson
7:34 pm, 09.19.10
I have found that the bible can be manipulated many different ways and no one final conclusion has more proof than any other in a lot of cases. My way of dealing with it is to be aware of what the bible says and how Jesus conducted his life, for all the things that contradict what we believe i stick to the most important things, love of God and love of your neighbor. The rest we can only do what we feel is right.
Amy McLean
9:57 pm, 09.19.10
I agree that skepticism can be a good thing. I believe that the questions we ask ourselves are what allows us to grow. You mentioned vanity as one of the aspects of Christianity that seems inconsistent among followers today. I can see where you are coming from. In our Child Psych class we were learning about the harm that princess stories can have on a girl’s self esteem when a fellow classmate brought up Esther. She was valued not only for her character, but also her beauty. Christians today have made beauty out to be sinful, but I believe that beauty is from God and is to be valued. As long as you love God more than beauty/yourself I believe no harm is done.